Legal Services & Lawyers

Primary practice fields are municipal, land use, environmental, and real estate law, with service in both the public and private sectors.

I wear many hats in the legal industry. As a lawyer, I provide freelance legal research and writing services to other lawyers through Lisa Solomon, Esq. Legal Research and Writing. As a business owner, I am a partner in The Billable Hour Company, which sells humorous gifts and greeting cards for lawyers and legal professionals. And as a consultant, through Legal Research & Writing Pro, I help lawyers improve their legal writing skills, and I also teach other lawyers how to start and run successful practices as freelance (a/k/a contract) attorneys.

Lisa Solomon, Esq. Legal Research and Writing

Comprehensive Legal Research and Writing Services for Attorneys
As you manage every other aspect of your clients' complex matters, you may find that comprehensive, in-depth legal research and concise, well-reasoned legal writing are just too labor intensive to take on yourself.

In some cases, it may simply be a matter of time—you're in the middle of a trial and need case law to support an evidentiary or substantive point; or you have to make or respond to a post-trial motion in a timely manner. In other instances, your decision whether to even take on a case depends on the answers to legal issues you've identified, and you need help finding those answers.

Since 1996, I have focused my practice exclusively on assisting attorneys with all of their legal research and writing needs, including preparing and arguing appeals and drafting substantive motions and trial memoranda. I work in almost every area of law, teaming with my clients to determine the best strategy to apply to the unique facts and legal issues in each case.

A Proactive and Personalized Approach to Legal Analysis
When you are faced with a motion, appeal, or legal research issue, you need to know more than the black letter law—you need to know how that law applies to the unique facts of your case. I never give you a "canned" brief; all of my work is customized, to be of most use to the busy attorneys who use my services.

I also take a proactive approach to identifying legal issues beyond the scope of the original assignment that may be crucial to the ultimate success of the project, helping you to be the most effective advocate for your client.

Learn more at www.QuestionOfLaw.net.


The Billable Hour Company

Looking for that perfect gift or greeting card for a lawyer, paralegal, law student, or other legal professional? The Billable Hour Company sells unique clocks and watches with dials divided into six-minute increments; humorous CDs by and for lawyers; law-related books and games; desk accessories; personal accessories; and Survival Kits—gift baskets containing selections of our most popular products. We also offer gift certificates that never expire.

The Billable Hour Card Store is the world’s only online greeting card store featuring humorous and customizable printed greeting cards especially for lawyers and other legal professionals. The store uses print-on-demand technology that allows customers to send highly personalized cards to their clients, colleagues, prospects and friends.

We offer volume discounts and custom logo clocks and watches. Contact us at 815-346-3468 or info@TheBillableHour.com to discuss how we can assist with your corporate gift program.

The Billable Hour Company is run by practicing lawyers Mark and Lisa Solomon.

Visit us at www.TheBillableHour.com.


Legal Research & Writing Pro

I started Legal Research & Writing Pro to help other lawyers improve their legal writing skills, and to teach lawyers how to start and run successful legal research and writing practices.

Studies and surveys show that career satisfaction among lawyers is at an all-time low. Chief among the reasons for a lack of satisfaction is the inability of many lawyers to achieve a balance between the demands of their careers and their personal lives. I believe your law degree shouldn’t be a trap: it should be a liberating, empowering force.

Technology and the outsourcing revolution have joined forces to make this the best time in history to establish a legal research and writing practice.

I’ve been in the field of outsourced legal research and writing since its infancy. When I started my practice twelve years ago, a lot of lawyers didn’t even use e-mail: I had to drag some of my clients, kicking and screaming, into the internet age. Although I could do legal research online, my dial-up connection was painfully slow. But the most difficult challenge to overcome was lawyers’ unfamiliarity with the idea of outsourcing research and writing work to a contract attorney.

Today, all that has changed. E-mail use is well-nigh universal among lawyers. High-speed internet connections make online legal research a breeze. And, most importantly, lawyers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of using contract attorneys to perform discrete tasks, whether the task is making a court appearance, defending a deposition, or researching and writing a brief.

For years, lawyers across the country have called and e-mailed me asking for advice on how to start and run a legal research and writing practice. I’m pleased that I’ve been able to help so many lawyers get their start in this practice area. But I realized that I could help so many more people in a much more comprehensive way if I compiled everything I have learned over the past twelve years and made it widely available.

I can understand if you’re a little leery: after all, why should I share what I’ve learned with thousands of potential competitors? The answer is simple: I think there is amazing pent-up demand for high-quality outsourced legal research and writing services.

As a solo practitioner, I need only a handful of good clients to support my practice. According to the American Bar Association, as of December 31, 2005, there were over 1.1 million practicing lawyers in the United States. In a 2000 statistical survey, the American Bar Foundation found that 36% of lawyers were solo practitioners and 38% worked in small firms. Small firms and solos are the most likely potential clients for a legal research and writing practitioner. As these lawyers search for their own work/life balance, they’ll be more and more interested in outsourcing their excess workload to specially-trained legal research and writing providers.

At the same time, based on my research, there currently are very few lawyers out there who actively promote themselves as dedicated legal research and writing service providers. In fact, I have located fewer than 100 lawyers in the United States whose web sites indicate that they perform legal research and writing services of any sort on a contract basis. (Of course, it’s likely that many more lawyers take on contract work, including legal research and writing projects, but do not advertise that fact.

All this talk of work/life balance and professional satisfaction might sound very “pie-in-the-sky”—even utopian—to most of us, almost too good to be true. You suspect that this kind of work must pay a pittance. But you really can have it all: a challenging career, the flexibility to enjoy personal and family time and a comfortable living.

To find out more about how LRWP can help you achieve the professional satisfaction you're looking for, visit our products page. There, you'll find more information about my new book, Contract Lawyering Success; our monthly group coaching calls; our library of recorded teleseminars and expert interviews; and personal, one-on-one private coaching sessions. These resources—in various combinations—are the keystones of our Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum Plus Memberships.

Visit us at www.LegalResearchandWritingPro.com

Attorney with extensive litigation and legal management experience as the Deputy GC and Acting GC for a Federal Government law department and as an associate with two AmLaw 100 firms. Demonstrated success in multimillion-dollar cases, along with a proven ability to lead and manage large teams. Admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, and District of New Jersey (District of Columbia--Pending).

Matthew L. Kolken, Esq., is a trial lawyer with experience in all aspects of United States Immigration Law including Immigration Courts throughout the United States, and appellate practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeals. He is admitted to practice in the courts of the State of New York , the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Introducing New York's latest full service immigration law firm. Offering legal expertise which you expect from major law firms, but with personalized attention.

Vidya Parwani received her Law Degree from Utrecht University, Netherlands before receiving her Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Fordham University, New York. After graduating law school, she interned at the United Nations as a Legal Adviser to the European Delegation. Prior to starting her own practice, she worked at a law firm in New York specializing mainly in immigration law.

She is licensed to practice in the State of New York. She is member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Being of Indian origin and raised in Netherlands, Ms. Parwani is fluent in English, Dutch, Hindi and Sindhi.

I am a third generation lawyer practicing in Fayetteville, NY, just outside of Syracuse. I have a solo practice focused on business development, estate planning, commercial litigation and equine law. In other words my practice is geared to wealth development and protection for yourself and future generations. I have developed this niche with one focus in mind: listening and responding to your needs.

A graduate of Syracuse University and Syracuse University College of Law, I have developed a practice that is singularly focused on meeting your needs from beginning to end. You will work with me directly and my focus is solely on making sure your goals are met, whether that is with your business or your estate. I want to make sure that you maximize your ability to grow your small business and make sure that once you have, the proper estate plan is in place. Engel Law Offices is committed to wealth development and protection. I look forward to working with you.

When you hire me for your Injury or New York No Fault case, you have the distinct advantage of my experience as an attorney who has defended various insurance companies.

I know what the insurance carriers don't want you to know. I understand their mindset and strategies. Now I can put them to work for you.

My practice is concentrated in the areas of residential real estate, Medicaid planning, wills and trusts, estate planning, probate and estate administration.

Whether you are thinking of buying a new home, selling your existing home, planning for your future or dealing with the passing of a loved one, my 43+ years of experience in those matters will help you accomplish your goals as effectively and stress-free as possible.

I can guarantee that I will personally deal with your concerns and you won't be shuffled off to a paralegal or young associate. If it's important to you, it's important to me.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS!

We help people with personal injury and criminal defense. I was a trial lawyer for an insurance company. Then I worked for a judge. I opened my own firm in 2003.
While we have had some big cases, most of our work involves regular events. On the low end, we see many speeding tickets and other traffic violations. We also get quite a few minor marijuana cases, some other minor drug offenses, and shoplifting too.
DWI cases are more serious. We've handled dozens of them.
Felonies are the most serious. We've represented several clients in federal court involving crimes at the border, including drug smuggling and alien smuggling. And we've handled felonies in state court, such as grand larceny, larger drug possession and sales, gang assault, and burglary.